AusBonsai

Hi all

At the end of last year our club had an Auction for this JBP. It is grafted and has an obvious negative taper but was very health. On advice I was told it will loose the taper in years to come.

I was prepared to take on the challenge and won the auction. When I got it home I thinned out the needles and repotted from the black plastic pot into a large colander.

I then put it out in the yard with my other Pines. The 3 “needles went pale but then new needles came through only 1”.

The picture is after I pulled the pale needles off and thinning. Once it has stabilized in the pot I will do some redesigning

Peter.

This may sound a bit "out there" Peter, but have you heard of a technique where you take a small hammer or heavy type of suitable object and tap the area you want thickened. I read it somewhere in one of my books, probably years ago but i will have a look for the topic and give you some more specifics on it if you like. Let me know if it interests you cause it could take a long time to find it, ive got a lot of books! hehehe I think from memory it is just a matter of protecting the bark and daily (i think daily)hammering the area. I have never tried it but yours looks like a good candidate to try it out on.
Peter

Hi Peter

I have read of that technique. I am trying a different method. I have used a knife and cut into the bark down to old wood then run down parallel with the trunk
line at 10mm intervals around the trunk in the affected area.

Plus allowing a sacraficial branch to grow at the peak , when roots start coming out the holes of the colender I will place the whole thing in a larger container.

I hope by encouraging root growth and the combo of the other techniques will remove the negative taper.


Peter

PeterH wrote:Hi Peter

I have read of that technique. I am trying a different method. I have used a knife and cut into the bark down to old wood then run down parallel with the trunk
line at 10mm intervals around the trunk in the affected area.

Plus allowing a sacraficial branch to grow at the peak , when roots start coming out the holes of the colender I will place the whole thing in a larger container.

I hope by encouraging root growth and the combo of the other techniques will remove the negative taper.


Peter

Hope it all goes well for you Peter. Do you know were you read that method, i am sure that was mentioned in the same book. It may be Dan Bartons "The Bonsai Book", i will look it up later if i get a chance.
Regards
Peter

You can also skewer holes in the cambium on the thin side. All this encourages callousing which thickens the trunk. In the meantime, if it is visibly bothersome, a rock can be artfully placed to conceal it.

Hi melaquin,

It dosnt bother me as this tree will be under construction for many years to come. It will go into a Bonsai Pot when I am happy with it .

Peter

I think your right. The different methods are also discussed at the club i go to. Our Pine expert doesnt believe in these methods. He prefers lots of fertilizer and a course growing media.

Peter

hey pete i think this pine has potential. my jbp 3 had reverse taper when i got it. copper wire with pvc over it, made a collar and choked it for about 18 months. gone although im sure the bottom sacrafice had alot to do with it too.

Perhaps you could graft a branch to the back of the trunk, and then let it grow as a sacrificial branch.

Paul

The tapping with hammer is to injure the bark and cause it to thicken in retaliation. I certainly wouldn't advocate it on a daily basis as time to grow has to be allowed for. Even monthly would be a tad early here where things grow slowly. I have used pliers to injure bark in the same way. It does work but it's slow. The slits in the bark might cause striations which will be unwelcome at first but it may prove to be the quicker way forward in the long run.

Just an update on this Pine.

Its had some wiring and potting angle change.

Still have the negative taper but it is better.

Peter

hi Peter,

I like the shape of this one, it has come on well. how did the slits go for you? I did it with a test tree ages ago and got some result from it, there was lots of dead sections but the live viens eventually touched back and rejoined, probably added a few mm of thickness to the tree.

have you any plans to try and remedy the graft taper prob?

Jamie,

I don't know if the slits helped but it has lost a bit of the reverse taper problem.

As far as future plans to reduce the reverse taper goes,it is the colander it is potted in.

A few years ago I read an article ( some where,I think it was Bonsai Today) about using colanders as the primary pot.Then planting the whole thing into a larger pot with a coarser mix. Feeding the outer mix to encourage the roots to travel from the colander to the coarser mix. This is supposed to increase trunk size quickly without loosing the inner feeder roots so when it is lifted it a matter of trimming the roots back to the colander.

As you can see I have not done the later and intend on doing that shortly.

Peter

the Colander method was explained to me on the old BT forum so maybe you saw it there

Ken

Coming along very nicely Peter, what do you think about covering the whole root system up so they don't bake (stun), might help speed up the process Peter, just a thought for you.
Cheers Anthony

After seeing Tony s yatsubusa I thought I would post a update pic of mine. The lower trunk has thickened more and I have done more work on the shape. Maybe in 5 year I will be able to put into a Bonsai pot.


Peter